Key Takeaways:
LVMH is exploring the sale of heritage makeup brand Make Up For Ever as part of a broader restructuring of its beauty division, according to sources close to the matter.
One source said the French luxury conglomerate approached several strategic beauty companies and private equity firms to sell Make Up For Ever, distributed exclusively through cosmetics retailer Sephora in Europe and North America.
The family-owned company is also weighing the sale of skincare brand Fresh and exploring a divestment of its stake in Rihanna’s cosmetics label Fenty Beauty, for which it is seeking between €1.5 billion ($1.78 billion) and €2.5 billion ($2.99 billion), the source said.
LVMH acquired Make Up For Ever in 1999, shortly after buying Sephora—one of LVMH’s core growth engines, with annual revenue exceeding €16 billion ($19 billion). However, the group now views the 42-year-old brand as too mass and not aligned with its core luxury focus.
Both Make Up For Ever and Fresh are loss-making brands within LVMH's beauty portfolio, another source said. Make Up For Ever in particular has recorded losses for the past eight years with annual net sales of around €300 million ($356.1 million).
LVMH had ambitions to build Make Up For Ever into a €1 billion ($1.19 billion) brand and employed around 2,000 people just a few years ago. But the group made limited investment in it and took few risks as competition intensified. Continued underperformance has since led to hundreds of layoffs across the brand, especially outside France. Make Up For Ever has had three different CEOs since 2019 and is now led by the label’s former CFO, Aline Burelier, who assumed the top job with a cost-cutting focus, the source added.
LVMH wasn't immediately available for comment.
In recent months, LVMH has been sharpening its portfolio through targeted M&A moves—including a roughly 9% increase in its stake in Loro Piana for €1 billion ($1.19 billion) and the sale of DFS’s China business for $395 million.
French luxury rival Kering has pursued a similar strategic approach to dealmaking, reshaping its beauty portfolio by selling the niche fragrance house Creed to L'Oréal for €4 billion ($4.69 billion) in October. The transaction included a 50-year exclusive license for L’Oréal to develop beauty lines for Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, an option for Gucci Beauty (currently licensed to Coty until at least 2028), and the creation of a 50/50 joint venture in the wellness and longevity categories.
The sale of Make Up For Ever is unlikely to be easy, despite its heritage name, as demand for makeup brands wanes. Beauty conglomerates such as Estée Lauder and Coty are also looking to sell brands in the category, with Coty having publicly announced that it launched a “comprehensive strategic review” of its consumer beauty business, which includes mass, legacy makeup names Rimmel London, CoverGirl, and Max Factor, shortly before announcing the exit of CEO Sue Nabi.
The restructuring of LVMH’s beauty division follows the recent departure of Stéphane Rinderknech, who led the group’s beauty business since March 2023 and served on its Executive Committee. He was replaced earlier this month by Véronique Courtois, who was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive of Parfums Christian Dior and LVMH’s beauty division.
Since Rinderknech took the reins of the beauty division, LVMH’s fragrance and cosmetics business saw revenue rise to €8.42 billion ($10 billion) in 2024 from €8.27 billion ($9.81 billion) in 2023.
However, momentum has since cooled across the cosmetics sector, with the makeup category under heightened pressure from fast-growing indie brands, which have dragged on performance in both Western markets and China, a key engine of demand.
In 2025, LVMH reported a 3% drop in fragrances and cosmetics sales to €8.17 billion ($9.69 billion), as declines in Asia, Japan, and the US outweighed growth in Europe and the Middle East.
The potential divestments come at a difficult moment for the wider group, which has lost around €100 billion ($119 billion) in market value over the past 12 months amid a slowdown in global luxury demand and a shrinking aspirational and high-end consumer base, especially in China. Group revenue fell 5% to €80.81 billion ($95.91 billion) in 2025, driven largely by an 8% decline in its flagship fashion and leather goods division, sending shares down as much as 8% following the results.
During the company’s latest earnings presentation earlier this month, Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault struck a cautious note on the outlook for 2026, while highlighting the strength of in-house beauty brands such as recently launched Louis Vuitton Beauté, Guerlain, and Dior—pointing in particular to the performance of Dior’s Sauvage male fragrance and its lipstick line—as he reviewed the beauty division’s results.
“One Dior lipstick is sold every two seconds. That's a lot of lipstick,” the 76-year-old executive told analysts, while also adding that the company was being “selective” with its investments across the division.
Arnault made no mention of Make Up For Ever, Fresh, or Fenty Beauty during the earnings call.
LVMH acquired Fresh in 2000, the year it also made core acquisitions, including Italian fashion house Pucci, and inaugurated its New York headquarters.
In Fenty Beauty, the company owns a 50% stake via its beauty incubator Kendo Brands.
LVMH’s masstige market beauty portfolio includes makeup brands Benefit Cosmetics and KVD Beauty. Its wider beauty portfolio also spans luxury names such as Guerlain, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Loewe Perfumes, and Kenzo Parfums.
